Week of November 16, 2008

Call for Abstracts

Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s
24th Annual Symposium, Delray Beach, Florida
May 26th–29th 2009

We invite abstract submissions for contributed oral or poster presentations at the 2009 FLEPPC Annual Symposium. The meeting will be held Tuesday, May 26th through Friday, May 29th in Delray Beach, Florida, at the Marriott Hotel.

Submissions are welcome for any area of invasive plant species investigation.

Deadline for Abstract Submissions: January 15th 2009

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT ONLINE!
www.fleppc.org/Symposium/2009/abstactsubmission.html

If web access is not available, please submit abstracts to:

LeRoy Rodgers, FLEPPC Program Chair
South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road, MS#5650, West Palm Beach, FL 33406561-682-2773 voice; 561-682-5044 fax lrodgers@sfwmd.gov

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Milfoil spreading in Opechee, NH

By GAIL OBER, Citizen.com

The state limnologist responsible for monitoring and eradicating milfoil from the area's lakes has noted a marked increase in the amount of the invasive weed in Lake Opechee.

Jody Connor said the little lake is "one of those that fell through the cracks" because the lack of a lake organization meant the Department of Environmental Services had no formal outfit through with it could work.

Today, Connor will discuss his recent findings at a session organized by lake resident Alan Beetle, who has invited anyone with an interest in preserving the lake to join them at Patrick's Pub on Route 11 B in Gilford."

There is a growing band, and though it is not all around the lake yet, right now it's about 38 acres," Connor said.

Milfoil is a snakelike invasive species thought to have originally come from Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. It is very hardy and a very small piece of the weed that gets on a boat propeller can move to another location and begin growing.

Connor said as the clumps get heavy, they drop to the bottom of the lake and begin to root into independent plants. An over-abundance of milfoil can choke out plant species that normally grow in a lake and can at some point affect the overall health of a body of water."

We knew the lake had milfoil," Connor said about the initial discovery of the weed near the Winnipesaukee River inlet at the Lakeport Dam in the 1960s.

By 1986, a lake survey indicated "sparse" infestation near the Lakeport Dam at the inlet. Waiting for that year's drawdown, Connor said the department attempted to cover the existing milfoil with a barrier that prevents sunlight from reaching the plants and encouraging their growth.

By 2000, Connor said the milfoil "had started to become locally abundant and common where the river comes in."

The latest survey, just completed six weeks ago, shows that milfoil 'has really spread."

One of the largest areas of concentration is near the initial infestation site near the Lakeport Dam where Connor said global positioning sensors and mapping show a band of milfoil about 6.8 acres in total mass. Link

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